DANGEROUS CURVES

Chapter 3

The Night Party

Livia’s POV

Before I knew it, his lips were on mine.

“Nico, stop,” I muffled against his mouth, but he didn’t stop. He kissed me harder, deeper, like he had been holding himself back for days and finally snapped. One hand gripped the side of my neck, thumb under my jaw, tilting my face up. The other hand settled firmly on my waist and pulled me flush against him. I felt every hard line of his body through the thin fabric of my dress.

A small, helpless sound left my throat. He answered it with another slow, deliberate sweep of his tongue against mine.

“You taste better than I imagined,” he murmured against my lips.

“This is a mistake,” I whispered back, even as my fingers curled tighter into his shirt.

“Then tell me to stop properly.” His mouth brushed mine again, softer this time, almost teasing. “Say it like you mean it.”

I couldn’t.

He kissed me deeper, and the world tilted. My knees went weak. For one reckless second, I kissed him back like I had been waiting for this since the garage. His hand on my waist tightened, fingers pressing into the soft curve above my hip. Heat flooded my body so fast it made me dizzy. I could feel the controlled strength in the way he held me, like he was fighting not to take more than I was giving.

The suite was quiet except for our breathing and the distant bass of the party two floors below. Champagne still clung to his mouth. His body heat soaked into my skin. Every second the kiss continued, the harder it became to remember why this was wrong.

Then reality crashed in hard.

I shoved him away with both hands. He took a full step back, chest rising and falling fast. His eyes were almost black. He looked like a man who had just tasted something he wasn’t willing to give up.

“No,” I said. My voice shook. “We can’t do this.”

Nico ran a hand through his hair, still watching me. “Why not?”

“Because you’re my brother’s rival. Because this job is everything I’ve worked for. Because if anyone finds out, I lose everything.”

“I don’t care about your brother.”

“I do.” My hands were still trembling. I curled them into fists at my sides. “You don’t understand what this would cost me.”

He took one slow step closer. “Then explain it to me.”

“There’s nothing to explain. This ends here.”

Silence stretched between us. I could still taste him. My lips felt swollen. My whole body trembled with the leftover heat of that kiss and the sharp fear of what it meant.

He had followed me upstairs.

I had only come to the suite to grab my phone. The post-race party was still going strong downstairs, full of champagne, laughter, and people who could never know about this. I never expected to hear footsteps behind me in the hallway or to feel the suite door push open before I could lock it.

Now he stood a few feet away, dark shirt half unbuttoned, sleeves rolled up, looking at me like I was the only thing in Monaco that mattered.

“You felt it too,” he said quietly. “Don’t lie to me.”

I looked away toward the windows and the lights of the yachts in the harbour. My reflection stared back at me, flushed and shaken.

“It doesn’t matter what I felt.”

“It matters to me.” His voice was low, rough. “I’ve never chased anyone in my life. I’m chasing you.”

The honesty in his voice scared me more than the kiss. I forced myself to meet his eyes.

“Then stop.”

He studied my face for a long moment. Frustration and hunger mixed in his expression. He looked like he wanted to argue, to pull me back into his arms, to finish what we started. Instead, he nodded once, sharp.

“For tonight,” he said. “I’ll stop. But this isn’t over, Livia.”

“It has to be.”

“No.” He shook his head slowly. “You can push me away as many times as you want. I’ll keep coming back until you stop pushing.”

My stomach twisted. “That’s not fair.”

“Nothing about this is fair.” He took another step closer, close enough that I could feel the heat of his body again. “I know who your brother is. I know what this job means to you. I know exactly how dangerous this is. And I still can’t stay away.”

I swallowed hard. “You have to.”

“I don’t know how.”

The quiet admission hit harder than any of his arrogance ever had. For a second neither of us spoke. The only sound was the distant music from the party and my own uneven breathing.

He turned and walked to the door. His hand paused on the handle. He looked back at me over his shoulder, eyes still dark, still hungry.

“Next time you won’t push me away.”

Then he was gone.

The door clicked shut. The suite suddenly felt too quiet and too big. I stood in the middle of the room with my fingers pressed to my lips, heart still racing, body still aching with everything we hadn’t done.

I walked to the window on unsteady legs and stared out at the Monaco night. The city glittered below. Somewhere out there, my brother was probably still celebrating with his own team, completely unaware that I had just kissed the man he hated most in the world.

I closed my eyes and tried to steady my breathing.

I could still feel Nico’s mouth on mine.

I could still feel the way his body had pressed against me.

I could still hear the rough promise in his voice when he said it wasn’t over.

And the worst part was that some quiet, traitorous part of me already knew he was right.

And for the first time, I was terrified of how much I wanted him to keep that promise.

I pressed my forehead against the cool glass and whispered the truth I didn’t want to admit.

“I’m in trouble.”